A WEEKEND WITH RABBI DR. WENDY ZIERLER
Rabbi Dr. Wendy Zierler is a rabbi, scholar, author, whose work bridges Jewish literature, gender studies, and contemporary culture. Originally from Sarnia and raised in Toronto, she is now the Sigmund Falk Professor of Modern Jewish Literature and Feminist Studies at Hebrew Union College in New York.
Ordained by Yeshiva Maharat in 2021, Rabbi Zierler is the author of several acclaimed books, including Going Out with Knots: My Two Kaddish Years with Hebrew Poetry (2025), as well as award-nominated works on film, midrash, and Hebrew women’s writing. She has also co-edited multiple scholarly volumes and serves as Co-Editor of Prooftexts, a leading journal of Jewish literary history.
In addition to her academic work, she is a fiction writer and film consultant. She is married to Daniel Feit and has three adult children.
Thursday June 4th 7:00 PM Social Hall
Going Out with Knots: My Two Kaddish Years with Hebrew Poetry
How can Hebrew poetry and Israeli culture serve as a bulwark and resource in times of personal and communal loss? An outgrowth of Rabbi Dr. Zierler’s recently published Kaddish / COVID memoir, this book talk will show how a study of modern Hebrew poetry and song can address issues of grief, prayer, God-wrestling, feminist transformation of tradition, and creative response to loss.
Shabbat, June 6th 1:00 PM Sanctuary
Re-reading Miriam: Changing Interpretive Seas
In this Post-Kiddush Torah Study session, Rabbi Dr. Zierler will explore how feminist literary reading strategies and modern poetic midrash can help us discover surprising new insights about the biblical Miriam